777th Assault Regiment

(You look into one thing and you end up discovering so much more - Irisz)

The 777th Assault Regiment was formed in the aftermath of the Second Succession War, growing out of the shattered remnants of several different mercenary commands. Knowing that their battered units were no longer viable, the commanders of those units came together during a meeting on Galatea in 2865 to discuss their options. All of them agreed that another war was inevitable, and that in order to keep operating during the forthcoming conflict they would need to rebuild their shattered commands.

Those present decided to amalgamate the remnants of their own units into a single command. While the idea was agreed upon by those present, no consensus could be reached as to who should lead them. In the end, in order to break the impasse, command of the unit was determined through a poker game which was eventually won by Bedford O'Toole, formerly of the Kannon Rifles. Taking his luck as a good omen, and noting the generally heavier weight of the equipment he had inherited, O'Toole named the new unit the 777th Assault Regiment.

From the personal journal of Annika Magyari

A couple of ones from my Grandmother's journals that I found interesting, especially given all the edits to one of them - Irisz

3rd February, 3068

I really shouldn't be surprised at what we found. The identity of dad's killers revealed, and it was exactly who we should have expected from day one. If you ever wanted a good example of just how toxic the world of big egos and log memories that is Mercenary culture could be, this is the best proof you'll ever get.

The feud between the Irregulars and Raymond's Roughnecks never really ended. It just went away from time to time, flaring up on those occasions when our units were coincidentally in the same place at the same time. Be it on Galatea or Outreach, it would keep happening. Name calling, deliberate provocation, bar brawls... You name it. All so very petty and banal, but also very much key to the culture. Dad would try to discourage them, of course, but one way or another, these things kept on happening.

New Hades investigation, days 1-3

(Given how busy you are right now, here's my quick breakdown of our findings over the last few days. – NK)

Sanguine Reapers

The Reapers seem to rather jealously guard their location, which might be a part of how they’ve managed to live so long and avoid both Pirate hunters and being raided by the other gangs. The Reapers have very little (Official) contact with New Hades City and its people. Rather, they deal directly with Sharkey, the 'boss' of the city. He provides them with food, water and other essential supplies, and in return he gets a cut of their take (And, reportedly, he even puts in special requests for loot).

Despite how it might sound, this relationship seems to have been a mutual agreement between Matthias Kaine and Sharkey. Apparently Kaine walked his 'Mech up to Sharkey's house with the dead body of the Reaper's former leader chained (or nailed) to the front of his 'Mech. That put Sharkey in a mood to talk. It means the Reapers don’t have to worry about getting fed, and can focus on the piracy.

Audio Log File #75887-Rho

Major Irisz Magyari: So tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave anything out.

Corporal Martin Levesque: I... I'm not in any trouble, am I?

Magyari: I just need to know what happened, that's all. These are my - our people we're talking about  here. I need to know as much as I can.

Levesque: Okay. [Deep breath] M... I was escorting Chief Technician Stanley and her crew back from the Union she was stripping down. My Centurion was leading the column, with her Savior right behind me and a couple more trucks behind that. They were all loaded down with parts taken from the ship.

Magyari: As was your assigned duty, yes.

The Lords of Pain

The Lords of Pain are a typical example of the sort of small, fringe groups that exist on lawless Periphery worlds such as Andiron. The group has its origins in a chance meeting between two pirates, Wilhelm Paine and Jarred Payne. Wilhelm was a member of a small fringe band that controlled an oasis and the ruined town around it, while Jarred was a member of a failed mercenary unit (Moore's Monsters) that had washed up in the world. Neither of them were strangers to banditry; Wilhelm having grown up in the lifestyle and Jarred having fallen back on it in order to survive. Finally,  both were MechWarriors with access to their own BattleMechs. Finally, the pair if them both fund the coincidences of their names somewhat amusing.

Forging an alliance, Wilhelm and Jarred made their move and deposed the prior leader of Wilhelm's band. His seizure of command was backed up by Jarred, who bought several members of the Monsters with him. The pair of them renamed the band the Lords of Pain after themselves, becoming effective co-leaders of the group.

Maintaining control of a source of clean water, the Lords of Pain raid nearby communities, trade caravans and other desert fringe groups for parts, food and other supplies. However, they are not above also trading when desperate. The band boasts a lance of BattleMechs, most of which are in poor repair and often short of ammunition. These are backed up by a lance of medium vehicles and several platoons of foot infantry, mostly recruited form other desert fringers. A squad of Battle Armour, still a rarity in the periphery, gives them an unexpected sting.

-From The Modern Periphery at a Glance, Galatea Free Press, 3142

New Hades City

I'm trying to find out some more on Andiron and the local situation so we can hunt down the Reapers. It's becoming clear that they're a lot better dug in then we thought, and even locating them is not going to be easy. So every little scrap helps. This is a transcript of a discussion I had with Raoul Fassan, one of the Chasseur's hovertank commanders. He turned out to be very willing to talk and had a lot to say on the subject. I've annotated it where needed - NK

The city... Well crap, let me see. Been a while since I was there. Ray (Major Raymond Terrace - NK) wanted us to keep out of there after the mess we got into when we landed. A few of us headed for the city and that's when we had our first blow-up with the Reapers. Two of us ended up dead and another two were Shanghaied into their ranks. Never saw those poor bastards again either. It's also how they got onto us, and when they started 'suggesting' that we should join them 'for our own good'. Plus with how remote we were, sneaking off wasn't that viable an option. But I hear stories and had a few good leads that kept me in the loop. Helpful to know, 'cause I was hedging my bets against when everything fell apart. I mean, come on, look at us. You know it was inevitable. Only Ray kept saying we were going to get off-world somehow, but I don’t think anyone really believed him.

So there's not much to say about its past. What we've got here is the third version of the city, and it's by far and away the worst. The first version was when this hellhole was Hellbrent - yeah, I know, I figure Hellhole would have been a better name - and a part of the Rim Worlds Republic. The capitol was called Hellsgate because they had a pattern going and so sure, why not?

Salvage

From: Cecelia Stanley

To: Irisz Magyari

Subject: Parts pillaging

I'm gonna be honest here, boss. The Chasseurs' situation could be best described as 'rooted'. I mean, first up they were crushed by the Elsies which is what drove them to flee out here to the arse end of the universe to begin with. And the next seven or so years after that didn't do them any favours either.

They were already a poor unit to begin with, and not exactly blessed with deep pockets. Having half their unit ripped up didn't help them any either, but then living off what they had out here in the middle of hell took its toll. There was next to nothing left in their spare parts pile, for starters. Just some armour, a bit of structure and a few other odds and sods that could be good for emergencies but that was about it.

Newcastle Chasseurs

MRBC Update 01-01-3138

Background

The Newcastle Chasseurs were originally a private unit in the service of the Dijeh family, hereditary nobles from the Free Worlds League world of Newcastle. Largely a ceremonial command, the force had seen very little actual combat for much of its existence. It was only during the Jihad that the Chasseurs were actually called upon to defend the Dijeh family's lands against raids by forces opposed to the pro-Word of Blake FLW government.

When the Principality of Regulus 'liberated' Newcastle from Word control near the end of the Jihad, the Dijeh family chose to stay out of the fighting. While this spared their lands and forces from destruction at the hands of Regulan troops (and the WMDs they liberally employed during their invasion), the family found themselves at odds with the new order. Tried as Word collaborators, the family was stripped of its title and lands.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

When we took the contract with the FWLM to wipe out the Sanguine Reapers, I was hoping for a quick and easy job. In an ideal world, we'd be able to hit Andiron, eliminate the Reapers on the ground and then be off in a day or two. Clearly I was being incredible naive.

Getting out here was easy enough, and we made planetfall without opposition. Our forward base is inside an abandoned industrial complex, which provides both a solid landing field for our dropships as well as allowing us to fortify the remaining buildings to add an extra layer of protection. That much went well, but it would be about the only thing that actually wound up going to plan.

Once we were down, our recon forces worked with the intel provided to us by the Eagles as well as Nikola's own research to scope out several locations where we believed the Reapers were based. From that, we found two probable locations based on both their location and some activity that we were able to discretely observe.

Suspected pirate hideouts - Perdition Sea

I found a bit on one of the Sanguine Reapers' suspected hideouts. It may not be much, and it's more then a decade out of date, but it's still better than nothing. Every little bit helps, after all.

The Perdition Sea was a large inland sea located in Andiron’s northern hemisphere. Like much of the planet's water, it was heavy with minerals and other contaminants, and was only suitable for human consumption with purification and treatment. During the Star League era, this was done with extensive purification facilities, but those quickly succumbed following the fall of the League.

Conversely, the fish and other sea life found within it were actually suited to human consumption, even if they usually had a bitter, salty taste to them. Fish farming became a major source of protein for the planet's population, especially after the fall of the League and the world’s abandonment by the Lyrans left it cut off. Extensive fisheries grew up around the Perdition seas' shores, enabling the planet's diminished population some degree of sustainability.

From Randy's production notes

Things we know about the mysterious "Ronnie"

• Early-mid 20s
• We have seen him in Tharonja's twice
• First time he was arguing with a red-haired woman. She left and he had a sulk
• Second time was when he was trying to recruit Ivar (of all people). Ransom headhunted Ivar out from under him and he had a sulk
• Comes in to Tharonja's either with others (his lance/other members of his unit) or to try and recruit people

Sanguine Reapers

RAF Update 01-01-3145

Background

Once a part of the now-defunct Circrinus Federation, Andiron was apparently attacked by the Word of Blake, supposedly their allies, at the end of the Jihad. The attacks shattered the world's infrastructure, leading to a collapse of its central government. Combined with the destruction of the Federation, Andiron collapsed into a near-lawless state, becoming a haven for pirates and other outlaws.

The Sanguine Reapers are one such group, albeit one of the larger and better-armed ones. Born out of a mixture of natives, failed mercenaries, renegades and other such groups, the Reapers have been a constant threat to nearby worlds for over fifteen years now. Equipped with a mixture of BattleMechs and conventional vehicles, many of which are salvaged from the ruined Federation or possibly even Blakeist stockpiles, the Reapers are a constant threat.

Andiron (A brief history)

From Periphery Atlas, 3140 Edition; Galatea Free Press

Helbrent was first colonised during the Age of War, and became a part of the Rim Worlds Republic's Timbuktu Province, at the outer reaches of that nation. A hot, dry world, the planet was dominated by a single supercontinent separated by a number of large, shallow seas. Much of its water supply was tainted, containing trace elements or high salinity that made it unfit for human consumption, forcing the world to rely on both Water Purifiers and supplies imported from nearby worlds.

In spite of this, the planet flourished, possibly due to its strategic position at the outer reaches of the Republic close to both the Free Worlds League and Lyran Commonwealth. During the Reunification war, the World was one of those that was loyal to the Amaris family, but no less was subject to pacification by the Star League Defense Forces as a part of their campaign to restore the government. Despite this, the damage to the world itself was minimal, and it was restored to the Republic following the war's end.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

Probably the single biggest problem the mercenary trade is suffering from at the moment is the lack of oversight and regulation. With the MRBC bankrupt, registration of commands has become little more than an empty formality, which means that a lot of unpleasantness has gotten through. There are plenty of commands now that are little more than pirates, or would have been banned years ago that now operate with impunity, simply because there's no real authority to stop them. As long as employers are willing to pay them, then they're free to do what they want.

Unfortunately, this problem goes both ways. As little oversight as there is of Mercenary commands, the employers are even better off. Questionable terms, withholding payment, out and lying to the Mercenaries they hire and so much more have become ever increasingly common occurrences as those employers know there's very little authority to hold them to account. An aggrieved mercenary command has little recourse for trying to deal with such breaches beyond word of mouth recounting of what happened. And even then, with the current state of the Inner Sphere's economy, there are plenty of commands willing to take a risk in order to simply survive.

Our last contract became a very good example of these sorts of problems in play. It's not that we didn't get paid or that the employer tried to twist things to their advantage or abandoned us in the field. It's that the Employer simply misrepresented themselves as to their actual identity and motivation, taking advantage of both the collapse of the MRBC and the inability to run thorough background checks that has come out of it.

RAF Intel Intetcept 3145-363749-Alpha

From: Star Colonel Marvin, 29th Wolf Garrison Cluster

To: Galaxy Commander Lois Fetladral, Green Keshik

Subject: Raid on Kalidasa

Galaxy Commander,

I am presenting my summary of the recent raid on Kalidasa in order to give you a more detailed picture of the events that occurred. A more full report of the losses incurred will be attached.

The mercenary raiders arrived via a pirate jump point and managed to remain undetected until they made planetfall. Once down, their company-sized BattleMech force split up into two demi-companies (With attached Battle Armour support), each headed to a different annex of the Kali-Yama factory complex. Both forces were engaged by stars from the 29th who attempted to stop them.

Unknown OmniMech sighted on Kalidasa

Irisz,

This is my final report on the 'Mech we encountered on Kalidasa during our last raid. I've put this together both from the lance's observations, BattleROMs and other material, as well as some analysis from Stanley. Obviously it's not meant to be conclusive, but rather a 'best-guess' at what we faced and what it's capable of. I'm going to start with the hard and known, then move towards the speculative as we go on.

To start with, let me recap the situation. Our augmented lance (Assault lance with Shona and a squad of Battle Armour) engaged a star from the 29th Wolf Garrison Cluster on the outskirts of one of the Kali Yama factory annexes. The Wolf star was entirely conventional in nature; a Tundra Wolf as the lead, almost certainly piloted by an actual Wolf warrior, and the rest of the star made up of AMSC salvage (Orion, Tempust. Griffin, Ghost) piloted by what were apparently adoptees. The enemy star were already damaged, with the Orion crippled and withdrawing while their other MechWarirors were showing only a questionable level of skill, suggesting that they may have even been raw recruits.

Audio Log File #75819-Rho

Voice 1 [Female; 50s; accent suggests Capellan March or Taurian]: So following up from your last report, there's something that caught my eye, and I'd like to know more about it.

Voice 2 [Male; 40s; no discernable accent, native English speaker]: Go on.

Voice 1: You said that Magyari's date was from another Merc unit. I wanted to know more about that; who they were, who they're with and the like.

Voice 2: I figured you would, actually. I have a few things for already.

Voice 1: Such as?

Voice 2: As mentioned, the mystery date was Terry McKinnon, the possible heir to McKinnon's Marauders. It's complicated, but I can give you the short version of it.

Voice 1: I'm listening. Give me what you have, already

Scenes from a Mechbay

"So were there any interesting turn-ups in what we got?" Irisz asked. It seemed to always happen; a salvage lot would have something strange or out of place that nobody expected.

"One thing did crop up," Stanley replied as she glanced at her manifest. "A crate of factory-fresh Hercules components taken from Kalidassia when it was incorporated into the Republic way back when. I'd guess it was probably shuffled from one Republic garrison to another before winding up on Fletcher and sitting half-forgotten for decades." The senior technician shrugged. "Of course, there's very little value to us because we don't use any of them ourselves, and much of it wouldn't fit any of the other chassis we use."

"So in other words?" Irisz wondered, looking for the quick summary

"Herc parts. Useless."

Journal Extract #75771-Rho

The return of the Irregulars to Galatea has Kept me rather busy. In addition to my usual babysitting duties, I've been keeping an eye on them as needed, and there has been a few interesting things to report. The first is that it's clear that they suffered A few losses along the way; not only are there a few gaps that were hard to hide, but Magyari almost immediately began putting out feelers for new people. That could be useful to us immediately.

I'm still trying to get the details of where they were and what they did, but the other interesting thing is that they offloaded a pair of strays that they seemed to pick up along the way. One of them was outwardly pretty harmless and, I'm also going to say, probably not really worth our time. The second, however, turned out to be a lot more interesting and came very close to causing a massive and only narrowly averted disaster for us. But more on that to come.

From the personal journal of Gillian B. Blackrock

Eckhart Stein has been something more than a blip on my radar for some time now. It's only recently, however, that I've begun to realize just how big a blip he actually is.

He's done a good job of playing the part of a mercenary broker and business manager; the sort of pencil-pushing administrator that no sensible merc command can live without lest they quickly find themselves drowning in a sea of red tape and unpaid debts. I'm not entirely sure how long he'd been using the Royals as a front for his business but it's clear that he had integrated himself well into the unit and gotten to a point where he was calling the shots.

Victoria Planetary News internal memo

From: Gordon I. Murray (Galatea office director)

To: Frank J. Harris II (Programming department)

Subject: Journalistic Ethics

Mate, we might have a problem with Randy's little project. I think he's gone native on us.

He’d just come back from the unit’s last contract and had dropped by the office to do the regular check-in with us; drop off the footage he'd recorded, touch base about the plans and the future direction for the show and all that sort of stuff. Given where he'd been and what he’d been doing, I expected as lot of good footage of Cappies getting the crap beaten out of them which I knew that the audience would lap up. And that’s all well and good, but there was something else that came with it.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

First things first; I offered Takahashi the field second in command role and he accepted it. It's not that much of a good deal for him; added responsibilities with only a small bump in pay, but he seemed willing to take it on. I think he'll do a good job of it, given his experience and the talent he's shown so far. He's also very unlikely to run off and do something reckless and halfway to suicidal, which is why I picked him over Will Owens for the job. I think the only issue is that Dae-Hoon will not appreciate me promoting a relative newcomer over him, but there's a certain logic to it. After all, Takahashi's going to be there in the field, not dropping shells on the enemy form a couple of kilometers back.

Best case scenario is that he gets angry about it and quits. That would actually solve a lot of problems in one go, even if it does mean that I'd lose an experienced artillery commander in the process,

Theta Galaxy, Wolf Empire

MRBC Report 01-06-3145

The original Wolf Clan Theta Galaxy was one of the casualties of the unknown conflict that cut the Clans off from their homeworlds. Of the Galaxy’s five clusters, all but one of them simply vanished from sight and were not seen after 3068. Their fates, like so many other matters regarding the Clan Homeworlds, remain a mystery to this day. A single cluster, the 13th Wolf Regulars, remained in the Inner Sphere, only to be mauled by the Hells Horses during their war with the Wolves. By 3085, that Cluster had been transferred to Alpha Galaxy (and since disbanded), effectively removing Theta from the Wolves’ rolls.

The new Theta Galaxy was formed in the aftermath of the rise of the Wolf Empire. While named for the older formation, while also keeping its insignia and colours for the sake of continuity, the new Theta was comprised almost entirely of recruits from the former Marik-Stewart Commonwealth . A mixture of civilians and recent recruits from military academies, with a few AMSC veterans among them as well, Theta quickly became the most successful of the newly-raised Wolf Galaxies.